With only a few weeks remaining in session, legislators are faced with significant work on the budget. This week, the policy committees worked to finish up by their April 2 deadline, and hearings for the various revenue bills that were proposed by both the House and Senate Democrats took place. The fiscal committees are now holding long hearings to pass any policy bills with fiscal implications by April 9. Then the action shifts to the floor of the House and the Senate to pass bills from each chamber, while a lot of work continues behind the scenes to agree on final bill language, especially on the budget bills. If bills are considered “Necessary to Implement the Budget,” then legislators can continue to introduce and hear those bills all the way until session ends. Session is expected to end by April 27 but legislators have a lot of work ahead of them over the next three weeks.
For a good look at the main differences between the House and Senate operating budgets, check out this chart created by the WEA.
After both the House and Senate passed their operating budgets (HB 1198/SB 5167) out of their respective chambers early in the week, Governor Ferguson held a press conference mid-week to share his opinion. Since both of them rely on an untested wealth tax for funding, the Governor said neither of the budgets are ones he could sign. This article from the Seattle Times has more on his press conference. Senate Republicans released a statement that said they appreciated the Governor’s stance. The Democrats are now having to regroup to sharpen their pencils and figure out their next budget moves.
This week, a bipartisan effort to create a Capital Budget was announced and while the House bill (HB 1216) and the Senate (SB 5195) bill are slightly different, in general, K-12 education would receive almost $1 billion for school construction, small district modernization, and seismic safety. Read more in this article from the Seattle Times.
The other significant budget that legislators need to agree on is the Transportation Budget. The House and Senate proposals are again different, and both rely on increases to the gas tax to achieve their spending goals. For more details on these budgets, check out this article from the Washington State Standard.
Two new policy bills were introduced recently. One is HB 2044, which would remove the requirement to file truancy petitions. The intent behind this bill is to save costs for the whole system (but not necessarily K-12). Based on feedback from principals across the state, we know that sometimes filing petitions can be an effective tool. I will testify “other” on this bill tomorrow and ask that this bill be amended to allow, but not require, the filing of petitions.
Another bill that recently dropped was HB 2068 (and its companion bill SB 5803) related to ending the sale of flavored tobacco and vapor products from the same bill sponsors as the earlier bills, Representative Kristine Reeves (D-Federal Way) and Senator T’wina Nobles (D-University Place). These bills would end the sale of flavored products and also address underage sales of nicotine pouches like Zyn, increase retailer fees and penalties, and increase taxes on all types of tobacco and vapor products. HB 2068 is going to be heard in the House Finance Committee on Monday, April 7 and if you want to sign in with your support, here are two options. One is our Action Alert below or follow this link to sign in by 9 a.m. on Monday, April 7 (one hour before the hearing).
For a look at all of the education bills that remain, see my complete bill tracking list here.
Bills Heard This Week
Monday
House Education, Executive Session
ESSB 5181 – Amending the parents’ rights initiative to bring it into alignment with existing law.
SSB 5412 – Providing temporary interfund loans for school districts.
Senate Ways and Means, Public Hearing
